"Collectively, the three comedians starring in “Laughter Against the Machine” have one Huffington Post blog, several alt-weekly columns, a degree in comparative politics, a degree in history, one long-running radio-show-turned-webcast, and three ongoing critiques about hegemony and the fallacy of a “post-racial” America."

"It’s smart, it’s heady, it gets to the very edge of what’s tolerable for a left-wing, politically correct audience. In fact, the comedians don’t ever clarify which machine they’re attacking. Sometimes it’s an obvious target (Joe Lieberman, the cop who arrested Henry Louis Gates, the state of Oregon). Other times, it’s a sacred cow (Tyler Perry, Kwanzaa, the movie Precious). Such wide-ranging assaults make the show more interesting. But they also require a little suspension of liberal mores.”

— East Bay Express

"These Laughs Kill Facists"

— The Portland Mercury

"The Funniest Show We've Ever Seen."

— SF Weekly

W. Kamau Bell, Nato Green, and Janine Brito, three of the nation’s most fearless and thought-provoking comedians, bring their sold-out comedy tour Laughter Against The Machine to The Sacramento Comedy Spot in the heart of downtown Sacramento.

Laughter Against The Machine came together in the back of a comedy show in 2008 during a discussion among Nato, Kamau, and Hari Kondabolu seeking new audiences for their material. Having collaborated on several successful Bay Area political comedy shows, they wanted to put on an issue-oriented, topical comedy show constructed of truly impassioned material to attract the thoughtful, dauntless, urban, and urbane audiences that they knew were out there. They wanted the comedians and the audience to show up understanding that they would both be challenged, where the audience could be entertained and think at the same time, and where the comedians would promise to push themselves to places comics normally fear to tread. They also wanted it to be hilarious. Hari, Nato, and Kamau wanted a comedy show with no preconceived expectations, no party lines, and certainly no cheerleading, because these three have beef with everybody, including themselves.

ABOUT THE COMEDIANS

Click to enlarge

W. KAMAU BELL told the very first joke about Barack Obama on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend way back in 2005. Unfortunately, the joke predicted that Barack would never be President. (Oops!) In addition to performing stand-up comedy, Kamau is best known for his critically acclaimed solo show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour. Kamau has also released two stand-up comedy CD’s, ONE NIGht ONLY & the critically-acclaimed Face Full of Flour, which made both iTunes and Punchline Magazine Top 10 Best Comedy albums of 2010. He has been named BEST COMEDIAN by The San Francisco Weekly (2008), The San Francisco Bay Guardian (2010), & 7×7 Magazine (2010). He co-hosts The Field Negro Guide to Art & Culture Podcast with Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid. According to Margaret Cho, “W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” His website is http://www.wkamaubell.com/

Click to enlarge

NATO GREEN, San Francisco native and erratic Huffington Post blogger, was recently named the SF Weekly’s Best Comedian of 2010 for putting on “legendary” shows that keep audiences “doubled over.” He's been described as "half Lenny Bruce, half Eugene Debs." Nato is the creator of Iron Comic, the Iron Chef-spoofing hit comedy game show that packed houses at SF Sketchfest three years running and the Bridgetown Comedy Festival 2010. The East Bay Express reported that onstage Nato “has a knack for pushing boundaries,” the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Nato “had the hordes howling,” while his comedy was called “edgy” and “innovative” by the San Francisco Examiner and the Northern California Jewish Weekly. He co-hosts The Rumpus Radio Podcast with author Stephen Elliott. His website is http://www.natogreen.com/

Click to enlarge

JANINE BRITO is a sarcastic, snarky smart bomb of comedy funk straight from the 80’s. She’s been told, on occasion, that she is relentlessly intelligent, cute, and above all screamingly funny. Janine started doing standup comedy in St. Louis and has performed at clubs and theaters throughout the US and Hong Kong. Now a rising star on the San Francisco scene, she is a regular at the Punch Line, winner of the 2009 SF Women’s Comedy Competition and recipient of Rooftop Comedy’s 2010 Silver Nail Award. Janine’s website is www.janinebrito.com

Welcome to Laughter Against The Machine. LATM is not just a show, it’s a band. A band that is strengthened by the diversity of the comedians’ opinions, ethnicity, and upbringing. Welcome to a show where the comics may (among other lighthearted topics) vivisect the very notion of post-racial America, AND attack the corruption and decadence of late-imperial America, AND provide an historical context for the mess we’re in, AND make jokes about it. Very, very funny jokes.

“Brutally honest without being a dick about it. RECOMMENDED”— East Bay Express